Chapter 848: Just Being Difficult

[Chapter 848: Just Being Difficult]

Steve Jobs had worries that were not unfounded. He himself had faced a dismissal, and Larry Ellison had also been in a tough spot with William White making things complicated for him.

Yes, Larry was still the CEO of Oracle, and William typically wouldn't interfere in his operations. However, the feeling of being held in someone else's hands was not exactly pleasant.

It had to be said, Jobs was quite naive. In the capital market, who really cared about right or wrong? Everyone was just out to measure each other's strength. It was a classic case of "winner takes all," or in other words, those who lost were just left behind.

"Cigars? Sure, Old Steve Jobs, you don't smoke, you don't drink, and you don't care about food either. Honestly, if you didn't appreciate beautiful women, what kind of joy would life hold for you?"

"Smoking isn't good for your health."

"Alright, fine, I won't smoke. What can I do for you?"

William had no intention to oppose Jobs' plans. Giving out some shares to his team was, of course, a selfish move on his part. Apple had hit rock bottom, and it was about time for someone to pull it back up.

"Steve, let's not focus on this. You've made your decision. I just want to tell you that this year, the stock market is looking promising. What does it matter if you wait until summer next year?"

"Do you see that big ship of mine? Next year is going to be tough."

Jobs didn't care about any Titanic comparisons; he understood William's words. An IPO this year might come with a high premium.

"Good this year? Why?"

"South America is struggling, Europe is not doing well, while Asia is better off, despite Japan's earthquakes. With all this capital wanting to return to America, there should be some suitable investment out there, right?

Cars? Steel? Petrochemicals? Don't be foolish. Aside from countercyclical industries and high technology, I can't think of any other viable investments. But, Steve, Apple is in a terrible situation. What do you think? I believe it's still salvageable."

"Ahem, William, I'm discussing Pixar right now. Alright, fine, you might not care."

"Ha! Wrong again, Steve. I care very much. The thing is, you can be a bit tightfisted, and frankly, I find it hard to give you advice."

Coughing, Old Steve Jobs seemed slightly annoyed.

"Damn it, now is the time for you to give some reasonable advice. Am I really that stingy?"

"Okay, I apologize. But I didn't say you were stingy; you're just being difficult, you know?" William pointed out the words "being difficult" on a blank piece of paper.

"I'll give you that phrase; I couldn't find a fitting English word to describe your state. Here's some advice: do what you want; don't let yourself have any regrets. As for that investment bank you mentioned earlier, I have no objections; in fact, they might be the most suitable.

Let me put it this way, NBC Online is something I'm working on with Morgan Stanley. My search engine won't look for them. That group is nothing but a disaster for high-tech companies."

If William said this now, Jobs would graciously accept it. If William had brought it up first, he would've surely thought it disrespectful.

It was just that difficult; there was no way to address it. To persuade him to acquire Apple was a whole different story; he wouldn't want any turbulence around Apple.

What Jobs hoped for was that Apple would carry him back on a throne. If everyone could see him as a savior, that would be perfect.

Old Steve Jobs left, looking displeased but not genuinely angry. He believed his position regarding Pixar was already elevated; little did he know, William had an even higher standing.

For a moment, he genuinely considered signing a bet on this, but of course, Jobs was proud. Wouldn't it be absurd for someone to have such high hopes for his company while planning to gamble on it?

Losing would be a source of mockery, and even winning would bring him little joy.

"Michael, fully cooperate with Pixar; their IPO is this year, and I hold quite a few shares. Jobs is truly a difficult one; there's no need to pick a fight with him."

"Ahem, boss, that's fine for now, but what about in the future?"

"Ha! Thinking too much; he's not really a Hollywood guy; he's just playing around. Once Pixar is public, he won't mind if I take over."

"Alright, I got it, boss. I'll collaborate actively."

When William mentioned Apple, it was not without cause. Compaq and Dell, those up-and-coming giants, had completely overshadowed Apple. The funniest part was, nobody considered Apple a competitor anymore.

In just a few short years, the flag bearer of PCs had fallen to such depths.

Engineers were indeed not good at managing companies, and sales elites weren't any better. Given their current structure, if they were selling IBM-compatible PCs, they could have taken off long ago.

A group of incredibly capable elites was trapped in Apple's quagmire. Every time William saw Apple's situation, he thought to himself, "Is this what fate has in store for you?"

"Sir, Japan is in trouble again."

"Not again? Just the other day, I said there wouldn't be an earthquake anymore. What magnitude is it this time? Did that mountain collapse?"

Coughing, Filson on the other end sighed in response. What had they done to deserve this? They were merely a cash machine, and on top of that, they had beautiful ladies to serve them.

"No, boss, it's not an earthquake. It has something to do with it, though. An operator at Barings Bank made a rogue trade or mistyped a transaction directive."

"Hmm, continue. A simple input error--how outrageous could that be? They have enough margin, right? I remember Barings Bank being relatively small; their investment ratio shouldn't exceed 25% of bank capital."

"Ahem, ahem, boss, they clearly violated that regulation. They had tens of thousands of long-term contracts--more outrageous than Soros."

"Seriously? Not this outrageous, right? Good grief, are these traders to bear the blame? What's their management team doing?"

"No one knows yet; the guy took off. And that's not all; they also leveraged to buy $20 billion in short-term bonds."

"Nonsense. This isn't just a mistake; the higher-ups at the bank absolutely knew. Filson, tell me, do our traders at White Fund have similar permissions?"

"Not at all. I don't have that kind of authority either."

"Okay, now let's put everything else aside and increase our short position in London immediately. If nothing unexpected happens, Barings Bank won't last, and their financial stock will definitely plunge."

"Sure, boss; I'm calling to confirm this."

"Yeah, handle this and come back right away. Are these elites going insane?"

Whether Barings Bank went down or not didn't truly matter. The bank was already doomed; shorting it was meaningless--filing for bankruptcy turned all plans into dust.

What William wanted to know was whether his White Fund, White Investments, and the trusts below had encountered any similar violations.

The financial market had its ups and downs; that wasn't a big issue as long as the foundation remained intact. Sooner or later, there would be room for recovery. What happened at Barings Bank was definitely beyond tolerance.

He wouldn't just be unhappy about losses; even if he made money, William wouldn't be pleased.

No one, nobody, could surpass the authority set by the company. When William ordered Filson to return, it was to thoroughly investigate whether they had similar issues here.

Was Barings the only one?

Don't be foolish; a minor employee wouldn't get the regulatory authorities to turn a blind eye.

Deals of large institutions simply couldn't be hidden. If it weren't for this recent disaster, they might have even come out on top. Didn't Soros also step in? That proved their choice wasn't wrong.

*****

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